Method of treating roofing elements



April 17, 1934. KIRSCHBRAUN METHOD OF TREATING ROOFING ELEMENTS Filed May 15, 1933 Patented Apr. 17, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD or TREATING ROOFING ELEMENTS Application May 15, 1933, Serial No. 671,015 Claims. (CI. 9168) This invention relates to a method of treating roofing elements, so as to produce rapidly and economically strip shingles, siding strips or other equivalent building material having the weather 5 edges suitably sealed with weather-proofing material, and the butt portion of the weather face provided with additional protection against the action of the weather.

The ordinary strip shingle of commerce is customarfly made by saturating a sheet of rag felt or the like with asphalt having a relatively low melting point so as to insure thorough penetration of the sheet by the saturant. The sheet is cooled sufficiently to congeal the saturant therein, then is coated with blown or oxidized asphalt having a considerably higher melting point. This type of asphalt is characterized by a tough and rubbery consistency at atmospheric temperatures so that it provides an effective waterproof protection for the weather face of the sheet. This coating of asphalt is in turn customarily protected by a surfacing layer of granular material such as crushed slate, such material being applied to the coating while the asphalt is hot and sticky so that the granular particles are partially embedded in the asphaltic coating and clinging thereto forming a substantially continuous protective layer. Strip shingles are then severed from the sheet successively by suitable so coating apparatus. These strip shingles are then ready to be laid on a roof. In order to avoid a tendency on the part of such roofing elements to curl at the weather comers by reason of absorption of moisture in wet weather and the loss of volatile constituents of the saturant in dry weather through the fibers of the foundation felt which terminate at the cut edges of the shingle, these'cut edges are preferably sealed after the shingle has been severed from the sheet,

40 by the application of molten asphalt or other suitable weatherproofing material to these out edges. The weatherproof qualities as well as the appearance of the shingle can also be improved by coating the weather face, or at least the butt portion thereof, with an additional layer of waterproofing material such as asphalt, such additional layer being preferably surfaced by a second layer of protective granular grit. An improved strip shingle of this type is described in my Patent No. 1,612,776. In making thick-butt, sealed-edge roofing of this type, the application of the second coating and sealing of the edges have been carried out in practice to a considerable extent by hand. Hand dipping has been found to be practical and to result in a high degree of uniformity of product. It is an object of the present invention to speed up the process of applying the second coat of waterproofing material and grit to the weather face of the shingle and to the weather edges thereof. While this process do is advantageous in hand dipping, it is equally advantageous in machine dipping. According to the invention, strip shingles or other equivalent roofing elements are arranged in pairs, the elements of each pair being placed together back- 55 to-back and with contour edges flush. The butt portions of the elements of each pair are bonded together sufhciently to prevent these portions from separating when the pair of shingles is dipped as a unit in a bath of asphalt or other equivalent coating material. Thus, two shingles are coated and may be surfaced with granular material in approximately the same time as that required for the dipping and surfacing of a single element. The shingles of each pair may be broken apart immediately after the shingles have been dipped in a bath of asphalt, that is, when the asphalt is still in liquid form, or after the asphalt has cooled and hardened sufiiciently toavoid pulling into threads when the shingles are 9 separated. They are then ready to be laid on the roof. In packaging the finished product for shipment, the individual elements may be assembled in a bundle or pairs of elements may be assembled for separation at the time the roofing 35 is to be used.

This method of production not only cuts down the average time required for the treatment of each element but also results in a desirable product having the additional coating substantially o confined to the areas which are in greatest need of protection, that is, the butt portions of the weather face and the adjacent contour edges, these being the portions which are customarily exposed to the effects of the weather when the roofing elements are laid in courses on a roof.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the description thereof which follows and to the drawing in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pile of strip shingles having the butt edges bonded together.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a pair of strip shingles arranged backto-back and having their butt edges bonded together, a portion of these 5 shingles being cut away to show in section.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a dipping tank and a pair of strip shingles therein, transverse sections of these members being shown.

Figure 4 is a perspective view, with a transo verse section, of a pair of strip shingles with a coating layer on the butt face portions and edges.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, the coated'areas having a surfacing of granular material thereon.

Figure 6 is an elevation of a finished strip shingle which has been treated in accordance with the invention.

In carrying out the invention, strip shingles 10 or other equivalent roofing or siding elements, cut to shape from sheets of asphalt-coated gritsurfaced roofing material, are assembled together, back-to-back, so that the weather faces 11 of each pair of elements are exposed as shown in Figure 2. As illustrated on the drawing, the elements may be slotted along the weather edges to form series of tabs. The butt edges 12 of the assembled elements 10 are bonded together by suitable means so that the pair of elements may be handled for further treatment without sepa ration of the butt portions of the two elements from one another. Any suitable bonding means may be employed. For example, the butt edges may be conveniently held together by bonding elements 15 of asphalt. To this end, molten asphalt may be daubed, sprayed, or otherwise applied to the entire butt edge areas or to a few separate portions of the butt edges as indicated at 15 in Figure 2. The asphalt when hard, forms an effective bond between the two shingles, this bond being of such a character as to be easily broken when it is desired to separate the shingles of the pair. A pair of shingles, bonded together, as indicated in Figure 2, may then be gripped near their upper edges and suspended with the butt portions down. In such position they may be dipped in a pool 16 of waterproofing liquid such as molten or emulsified asphalt in a suitable container 17. If molten asphalt be employed in the pool 16, any convenient means may be employed for keeping the asphalt sufficiently heated to remain liquid. The pair of shingles may be dipped to a suflicient depth to coat the butt edges and the weather faces of the butt portions of the shingles up to any desired height from the butt edge. It is obvious that this coating may be extended as far up the faces of the shingles as desired by the depth to which the shingles are thrust into the pool of asphalt. It may be desirable, for example, to dip the elements so that the extra coating extends to a height about half an inch or so below the upper ends of the slots, as shown. If the weather face of the element before being dipped is covered with grit of one color, and the dipped surface is covered with grit of a contrasting color, the elements, upon being laid in the customary manner in courses with the butt edges flush with the upper ends of the slots in the course next below, will expose narrow horizontal bands of the primary grit layer on the lower course of elements, as well as short vertical bands which are exposed through the slots in the overlapping course. Thus, for example, if the primary grit surfacing be white, and the dipped surface areas he surfaced with red grit, it is evident that, by laying the elements in the manner described, a brick-work effect is produced, the dipped portions of the tabs representing individual bricks, the exposed areas of the primary layer of white grit representing the horizontal and vertical mortar joints. The dipped surface areas may be surfaced with grit by placing each pair of shingles as a unit on a bed of loose grit immediately after the removal of the pair from the dipping tank, rolling the pair over onto the opposite face while the butt edge is still in engagement with the bed of loose grit, and applying pressure to the upper face of the pair so as to press the grit which has been picked up by the adhesive coating into firm adhesive contact therewith. This operation, as applied to individual strip shingles, is described and illustrated in my Patent No. 1,767,374. The granular material, which is picked up by the sticky asphaltic coating 18 and is pressed into partially embedded engagement therewith, forms a protective surface 20 which covers the coating 18 on the opposite faces and butt edge areas of the pair of strip shingles. When the coating 18 has hardenedor set, the individual elements of each pair may then be pulled apart, leaving each individual strip shingle with an additional asphalt coating and grit layer on its weather face and a protective layer of asphalt and grit on the butt edges, the under face or back of the strip shingle being substantially free from such additional coating. If preferred, the elements of each pair may be pulled apart immediately after removal from the dipping tank, the asphalt coating being then still hot and liquid. The individual elements are then separately surfaced with grit which of course adheres only to the freshly coated areas on the weather face and edges of the butt portion of each element.

The operation of bonding pairs of strip shingles or other roofing elements together may be facilitated by collecting such elements together in bundles or piles as illustrated in Figure 1, the individual elements being laid alternately face-up and face-down so that the pile consists of successive pairs of elements, the elements in each pair being back-to-back. For convenience, such a pile of elements may be supported on a shelf 30 in such a way as to present the alined butt edges of the elements for convenient application of bonding material such as molten asphalt. This material may be applied in the form of a suitable number of stripes 31 or may cover the entire area of the butt edges presented. The application of the asphalt to these edges may be made by any suitable apparatus such as a spout, a spraying device, or a brush. When the asphalt on the butt edges of such a pile orbundle of elements has set, the pile may be broken apart so as to form pairs of elements ready for dipping as units as hereinbefore described. a

It is evident that many' modifications and variations in the specific methods hereinbefore described may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A method of treating roofing elements such as strip shingles, which comprises bringing a pair of elements together back-to-back with contour edges flush-bonding together the butt edges of the elements, dipping the pair as a unit into a pool of liquid waterproofing material whereby a coating of said material adheres to the weather edges and faces of the elements of the pair, and separating the elements.

2. A method of treating roofing elements such as strip shingles, which comprises bringing a pair of elements together back-to-back with contouredges flush, bonding together the butt edges of the elements, dipping the pair as a unit into a pool of liquid waterproofing material whereby a coating of said material adheres to the weather edges and faces of the elements of the pair, surfacing the coated areas with granular matter, iandv'sepuating the elements.

13. method of treating roofing elements such assttip shingles, which comprises collecting said elements in pairs, back'to-back' with edges flush,

bonding together the butt edges of the elements 1 of each pair, dipping each pair as a unit in a poolri fluid asphalt, whereby a coating of asphalt adheres to the weather edges and faces oi the elements of the pair, and surfacing the "asphaltic coating with granular matter.

4. A method" of treating roofing elements of the same size and shape, which comprises arranging several of said elements in a pile alternately face-up and lace-down and with contour edges flush, bondingthe butt edges of said elements together with waterproof adhesive material, separating the elements of the pile into pairs,

the elements 01' each pair being baclr-to-back, dipping said elements by pairs in a pool or waterproofing material, and subsequently separating.

the elements of each pair.

5. A method of treating strip shingles or the like, which comprises arranging several of said shingles in a pile alternately face-up and face- 

